Hey guys, need advice here. I took my PRS SE Singlecut in to get tuners changed and one was overtightened - broke the finish all to hell on front of the headstock and chipped the back right to the wood. When I went back, they asked me what I wanted. I said I don't know, and asked what they did in similar cases. They said that they've never damaged a guitar before because they're super careful. Yeah right, and I've got a bridge for sale. So anyways, I leave it with the assistant manager and he says he'll discuss with the manager. I know it's 'only' a PRS SE, but I've been wanting one forever and it's in very hard to find whale blue.

My initial thought was repair or replace.

So my question is, what would you do? Thanks in advance for the input guys.

I agree with JV..... I'd give them the opportunity to repair it. It is more an issue of cosmetics as opposed to playability. If after you get it back and it doesn't meet with your approval, then I would possibly seek some monetary compensation for the damage because if you were to sell the guitar, it'll have an impact on the value.

If they are in possession of your guitar and something happens to it, they are responsible for making it right.... pure and simple. I'm dealing with that on a car repair - needed the radiator replaced and the shop left my car outside during the process. Had a massive storm come through with lemon sized hail..... my car looks like a golf ball with all the dings in it. Dealer is stepping up to repair it and if they can't, they may end up paying me for the remaining value of the car (it's almost 5 years old) because I'd take it in the pants on a trade in now.

I'd be happy with a repair, but from what the assistant manager said, it's not really something that can be repaired (translation - it's not a valuable enough instrument to spend that much time and effort on). So if they won't repair it, what should I do? I was thinking refund the money for the work and give me a store credit, but how much? Unfortunate thing is, I really like this guitar and they're quite rare in this color. Theyre a ton of guitar for the money and with a few minor upgrades. It's likely only cosmetic, but as Marcus said, it was in their posession for a paid service and got damaged. What a pain in the a$$!!!

For my take: They can repair it, to your satisfaction; or, you can take them to the Canadian equivalent of Small Claims Court here in the States.

As Marcus said, while in their possession, the guitar is their responsibility. Doesn't matter whether they had an issue in "repair," or the shop caught fire, or a can of lacquer fell off a shelf and spilled on the finish.. Guitar, automobile, makes no difference. This is a case where you should definitely get what YOU want out of the situation.

They should repair the guitar to the point you let them. Remember they have your guitar in deposit so are responsible for it, even if stolen (just like when you let your car for repair, they usually have an insurance policy covering those risks, it is professional way to work). If manager thinks it is not valuable repairing it , they should give you the money to buy the same guitar new or used. Bussiness is bussiness you win but sometimes you can loose, that is the nature of that.

Man that's a bummer !! They are clearly at fault, the fact that when you picked it up they didn't tell you what happened right away with an apology and then discuss options says something right off. Very unprofessional IMO. I don't know where you get work done, but if you are not satisfied with the managers next handling of this i'd go to the owner with what happened and how you were treated. I'm pretty sure they have a different mindset about how customers should be treated. I personally would feel insulted that they let you pay and walk out of their store with a damaged guitar, that's not how you do business. I don't care if the guitar in question is worth $100 or $10,000 either, it's the princible of how a customer should be respected and treated.

Update - the manager just called and said yadda yadda, it's been a while (it was, but I hadn't even picked it up as I've been away for work and had a lot of house guests this summer) and he's just doing this as a courtesy but he'll send it to a local guy they have doing refinishes and stuff to get it repaired.

So we'll see how it plays out. I didn't like the 'courtesy' part and let him know that. I told him I don't expect anything unreasonable like a new guitar or anything, but I just want my guitar to look like it did when I dropped it off to get the work done in the first place.